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Education Department Bulletin 

Pubfished fortnightly by the University of the State of New York 

Entered as second-class matter June 24, 1908, at the Post Office at Albany, N. V., 
under the act of July 16, 1894 

No. 462 ALBANY, N. Y. . .^uary i, 1910 



New York State Library 



Bibliography 46 



THE TRANSLATION AND PUBLICATION 



MANUSCRIPT DUTCH RECORDS OF NEW NETHERLAND 



WITH AN ACCOUNT OF PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS AT 
TRANSLATION 



L356r-Ng-i3oo 



ALBANY 

UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 
I910 



fc.Aiii OF nHW VURK 

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 

Rtgcnlf of the Uoivertity 

With ye«r« when terms eipire 

191J WniTELAW Reid M.A. LL.D. D.C.L. Chancellor Xcw Yo 

1917 St Clair McKelway M.A. LL.D. Vice Chancellor Brookly 

1919 Daniel Beach Ph.D. LL.D. _____ Watkim 

1914 Pliny T. Sexton LL.B. LL.D. ----- Palmyra 
1912 T. Guilford S.mith M.A. C.E. LL.D. - - - Buflalo 

1918 William Nottingham M.A. Ph.D. LL.D. - - Syracus« 
1910 Chester S. Lord M.A. LL.D. - - - _ _ NewYor 

191 5 Albert Vander Veer M.D. M.A. Ph.D. LL.D. Albany 
iQii Edward Lauterbach M.A. LL.D. - - - _ New Yo 

1920 Eugene A. Philbin LL.B. LL.D. - - _ - New Yo 

1916 LuciAN L. Shedden LL.B. LL.D. - - - - Plattsbu 

1921 Francis M. Carpenter ------- Mount I« 

Commissioner of Education 

Andrew S. Draper LL.B. LL.D. 

Assistant Commissioners 

Augustus S. Downing M.A. Pd.D. LL.D. First Assistant 
Frank Rollins Ph.D. Second Assistant 
Thomas E. Finegan M.A. Pd.D. Third Assistant 

Director of State Library 

James L Wver, Jr, M.L.S. 

Director of Science and State Museum 

John M. Clarke Ph.D. Sc.D. LL.D. 

Chiefs of Divisions 

Administration, Harlan II. Horner B.A. 

Attendance, James D. Sullivan 

Educational Extension, William R. Eastman M.A. M.L.! 

Examinations, Charles F. Wheelock B.S. LL.D. 

Inspections, Frank H. Wood M.A. 

Law, Frank B. Gilbert B.A. 

School Libraries, Charles E. Fitch L.H.D. 

vStatistics, Hiram C. Case 

Trades Schools, Arthur D. Dean B.S. 

Visual Instruction, Alfred W. Abrams Ph.B. 



r 



Neiv York State Education Department 
New York State Library, November 27, 1909 

Hon. Andrezv S. Draper 

Commissioner of Education 

Dear sir : I have the honor to transmit herewith and to recom- 
mend for publication as BibHography bulletin 46, a report pre- 
pared by Mr A. J. F. van Laer, touching the present condition of 
the manuscript Dutch records of the government of New Nether- 
land, 1638-74, and dwelling especially upon the inadequate and 
wholly unsatisfactory nature of previous partial translations of 
these, the earliest official documents of what is now the State of 
New York. 

Through age and frequent use the condition of these documents 
is each year less favorable for translation. None of the earlier 
partial translations have any value for exact historical work with- 
out competent comparison with the originals. The matter has en- 
listed the interest and concern of such men as Aaron Burr, De 
Witt ainton and John V. L. Pruyn, and the meager and untrust- 
worthy results of the several enterprises inaugurated by them 
are due to the fact that in the past no translator was found who 
was at once a competent Dutch scholar, a master of correct and 
easy English, thoroughly acquainted with the history of the period, 
and experienced in work with its manuscript memorials. These 
qualifications must be combined in one man before the work may 
be begun with assurance of creditable and final performance. After 
having vainly sought him for more than a century, and after spend- 
ing $40,000 for poor work, such a man is now in the State's em- 
ploy. It would seem that he should be invited to do this work. 
This report is sent to you with the hope that its publication may 
help to secure suitable interest in and appropriation for the purpose. 

Very respectfully 

James I. Wver, Jr 

Director 



State of New York 
Education Department 

( OMMISSIONERS ROOM 

1 liis report of Mr A. J. F. va;i Lacr, the State Archivist, upt)n 
the condition and dangers of the Dutch records of the State, sug- 
gests very convincingly the desirahiHty of perfect and complete 
translations and of the i)ul)lication of all such records. Publication 
is approved in order to make the same available to the I^gisk;- 
ture and the Governor, in the hoi)e that such work may be ai; 
thorized. 




CoDimissioHi-r of liducatioi 



December 23, 1909 



D. OF D. 

FEB 6 1910 



Education Department Bulletin 

Published fortnightly by the University of the State of New York 

Entered as second-class matter June 24, 1908, at the Post Office at Albany, N. Y., under 

the act of July 16, 1894 

No. 462 ALBANY, N. Y. January i, 1910 



New York State Library 

Bibliography 46 
THE TRANSLATION AND PUBLICATION 

OF THE 

MANUSCRIPT DUTCH RECORDS OF NEW NETHERLAND 

WITH AN ACCOUNT OF PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS AT 
TRANSLATION 

, To the Director of the State Library 

At your request, I submit the following report on the nature and 
extent of the Dutch records preserved in the manuscript section 
of the State Library, the history, relative extent and value of the 
existing translations, the advisability of retranslating and publish- 
ing part or the whole of the said records, and the probable extent 
of such publication in octavo volumes. 

The records in question embrace all that has been preserved of 
the archives of the government established by the Dutch West 
India Company over the province of New Netherland, which ex- 
tended from Cape Cod to the Delaware river. They accumulated 
for a period of over 30 years in the office of the provincial secre- 
tary and were turned over to the British on the capture of New 
Netherland in 1664; they were restored to Governor Colve on the 
reoccupancy of the province by the Dutch in 1673 ^"<^'' ^^i^^ the 
papers of Colve's administration, were again delivered to the 
British in 1674. The records remained in the office of the secre- 
tary of the colony of New York till the outbreak of the Revolution, 
when they were removed to the house of Nicholas Bayard, alder- 
man of the out ward of the city of New York. In June 1776, 
by order of the Provincial Congress, the records were removed to 
Kingston and after the war they were deposited in the office of 



6 NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 

the Secretary of State, first located at New York and later at 
Albany. They remained in the custody of the Secretary of State 
till 1 88 1 when, under authority of chapter 120 of the laws of 1881, 
they were transferred to the State Library. 

The Dutch records were originally bound in 48 volumes, lettered 
A-Z and AA-PP, but about 1850 they were rearranged by Dr 
E. B. O'Callaghan and, with the exception of two volumes of land 
patents which retained their former lettering, rebound in 20 volumes 
as part of the series of A'Czv York colonial manuscripts, as follows: 

Register of the Provincial Secretary, containing contracts, leases, 
deeds, wills, bonds, powers of attorney and other private instru- 
ments, bearing the autograph signatures of the contracting par- 
ties and witnesses. 3V. 
V.I Apr. 19, 1638-Nov. 30, 164 1. 282P. 
V.2 Jan. 7, 1642-Sept. 30, 1647. 526p. 
V.3 Aug. 17, 1648-Aug. 28, 1657. 395p. 

Council minutes, containing the executive, legislative and judicial 
proceedings of the Director General and Council of New Nether- 
land. 7v. 

V.4 Apr. 8, 1638-Aug. 2, 1649. 46SP. 
v.s Jan. 1652-Dec. 31, 1654. 469P. 
V.6 Jan. 6, i6s5-Apr. 29, 1656. 389P. 

V.7 Mar. 2, T65S-Sept. 19, 1656. About 7oop. (largely duplicates of en- 
tries in v.6 and 8). 

V.8 May i, 1656-Dec. 26, 1658. ic9rp. 
V.9 Jan. 15, 1660-Dec. 22, 1661. 964P. 
v.io (pti) Jan. I, 1662-Dec. 28, 1662. 3i5p. 

(pt2) Jan. 4, 1663-Dec. 31, 1663. 472p. 

(pt3) Jan. 3, 1664-Dec. 21, 1664. 332p. 

Correspondence, containing the correspondence of Director Gen- 
eral Stuyvesant with the directors of the West India Company, 
the governors of neighboring colonies and the subordinate officers 
in New Netherland. 5v. 
V.I I 16^6-Dcc. 2y, 1653. 336p. 
V.12 Mar. 12, 1654-N0V. 27, 1658. 349p. 
V.13 Feb. 13, i6s9^Dec. 24, 1660. 485P. 
V.14 Jan. 12, r66i-Dec. 7, 1662. 333p. 
V.15 Jan. 8, 1663-Sept. 8, 1664. 475p. 

Ordinances, for the internal government of the province. Part of 
v. 16. 

V.16 fpt i) May 31, 1647-Mar. 4, 1657. 138P. 

Fort Orange records. 2 parts of v. 16. 

V.16 (pt2) Oct. 4, 1656-Dec. II, 1657. \ 

(pt3) Jan. 13, 1660-Dec. 30, 1660. j •^■^^' 

Writs of appeal. Part of v. 16. 
V.16 (pt4) 1658-Oct. I, 1663. 33p. 

Curasao papers, containing resolutions, letters and instructions re- 
lating to the administration of the island of Curasao, W. I. iv. 
V.17 Aug. 15, 1640-JuIy 12, 1665. 339p. 

Delaware papers. 2v. .. 

V.18 Sept. 22, T646-Dec. 24, 1660. 434P- 
V.19 Jan. 14, i66i-Jan. 12, 1664. 2i8p. 



THE TRANSLATION OF MANUSCRIPT DUTCH RECORDS 7 

Records of the administration of Governor Colve. iv. 

V.23 Aug. 12, 1673-N0V. 3, 1674. 638P. 

Land patents and deeds. 2v. 

GG Patents. July 12, 1630-Sept. 20, 1651. 2igp. 

HH (pt I, formerly marked II) Deeds. Sept. 5, 1652-Oct. 15, 1653, 
63p. 

(pt 2, formerly marked HH) Patents. Feb. 26, 1654-Apr. 5, 1664. 

I28p. 

Together these records contain 10,121 written folio pages, with 
an average of over 200 words per page, or a total of at least 
2,024,200 words. They constitute the oldest public documents of 
the State and form the most important source of material for the 
history of organized society on this continent under Dutch regime. 

Unfortunately, they do not embrace all the records of the govern- 
ment established by the Dutch West India Company. The most 
important gaps are as follows : 

Council minutes, prior to 1638; Aug. 2, 1649-Jan. 1652; June lo- 
Sept. 2, 1652 ; May 30-Nov. 1653 with the exception of a few 
entries in August; June 19, 1657- Jan. i, 1658; the whole of the 
year 1659. 

Correspondence, prior to 1646. 

Accounts, 1626-64. 

Report of Director Stuyvesant's voyage to, and transactions in, the 
West Indies, submitted to the Council, July 14, 1655. 

Letters and papers respecting the negotiations at Hartford with 
the English, preliminary to the boundasy treaty of 1650. 

Various letter books and a record of petitions, to which reference 
is made in the Council minutes. 

The honor of having first appreciated the value of the existing 
records for an accurate history of the State from its first settle- 
ment seems to belong to the Rev. Samuel Miller D.D., for many 
years pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in New York city 
and from 1813 to 1849 professor of ecclesiastical history and church 
government at Princeton. Dr Miller began collecting material 
for a history of the State of New York in 1797 and on January 4, 
1798 petitioned the Legislature for leave to inspect the records in 
the various public offices of the State without" the payment of the 
fees prescribed by law.^ His petition w^as referred to a committee 
and favorably reported on January 6, when the committee brought 
in a bill entitled An act to encourage the zvriting a history of this 



^ Assembly Journal, 1798, 21 123. 



8 NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 

State.^ The bill received the support of De Witt Clinton,- then a 
member of the Assembly, and became a law on January 19, 1798/^ 
Dr Miller availed himself of the privilege granted by the act, but 
soon found that a large number of important documents were writ- 
ten in the Dutch language, which, from his ignorance of that lan- 
guage, he could not peruse. At the next session of the Legislature 
he presented therefore another petition,'* dated January 22, 1800, 
praying that a " Gentleman of highly respectable character and 
worthy of the most entire confidence," who had offered to make 
translations from the records, be permitted to take the records in 
succession to his own dwelling in Albany for the purpose of mak- 
ing translations and extracts. The petition was read in the As- 
sembly on February i,^ and February 6-7 the Assembly and 
Senate passed a joint resolution,^ authorizing James Van Ingen, 
clerk of the Assembly, to take the Dutch records in succession 
from the Secretary's office to his own dwelling for the purpose of 
making the required translations. So far the question of transla- 
tion was entirely a private matter. It soon developed, however, 
that the translation involved a degree of labor and of consequent 
expense which it was not convenient for Dr Miller to incur, and 
January 22, 1801 he drew up a third petition or memorial,'^ which 
read in part as follows : 

Your memorialist is so deeply convinced of the importance of 
the Records in question, in order to a complete elucidation of the 
early part of our history, that he is persuaded it v/ould be extreme 
injustice to the State, and to himself, to think of proceeding in his 
plan, without becoming acquainted with their contents. 

Your memorialist, therefore, respectfully prays your Honorable 
Body, to take such measures as to your wisdom may seem proper, 
for the purpose of causing a translation to be made of the above- 
mentioned Records, in the Dutch language, or of such parts of 
them as may be judged useful, at the expence of the State: — 
which translation, after being completed, to be considered the 
propertv of the State, and subject to its disposal alone. To the ac- 
complishment of this object, your memorialist believes the appro- 
priation of a small sum would be abundantly adequate ; and he 
would, with all deference, submit to your Honorable Body, whether 
a moderate public expenditure might not with propriety be devoted 
to the placing an important body of Records in such a situation 

1 Assembly Journal, 1798, 21 :30. 

2 Life of Samuel Miller, by Samuel Miller, Phil. 1869, 1:109. 

3 Laws of 1798, ch. 2. 

'' "Assembly Papers," 5:107. 

5 Assembly Journal, 1800, 23:39. 

6 Assembly Journal, 1800, 23 :52 ; Senate Journal, 1800, 23 :22, ; "Assembly 
Paoers," 5:105. 

""Assembly Papers," 5:283. 



THE TRANSLATION OF MANUSCRIPT DUTCH RECORDS 9 

as would render them subservient to the mterests of the State, in 
Other respects, than that for which the measure is immediately re- 
quested. 

The petition was read in the Assembly on January 30,^ and Feb- 
ruary 19 Mr Aaron Burr, from the committee to whom it was re- 
ferred, reported : 

That in their opinion immediate measures ought to be taken to 
procure a translation of the records of this State, now in the 
Secretary's office, which are written in the Dutch language ; and 
that in order to encourage the said Samuel Miller in the prosecu- 
tion of his laudable undertaking, and to facilitate his researches, 
the translation to be made, ought, under suitable caution, and for 
a limited time to be entrusted to his care for perusal. 

Resolved, That this House do agree with the committee in their 
said report. 

Ordered, That the said committee, with the exception of Mr 
Burr, and the addition of Mr Thompson, do prepare and bring in 
a bill, agreeable to said report.^ 

March 23, iSoi^ Mr Thompson brought in the following resolu- 
tion : 

Resolved, (if the Hon. Senate concur herein) That the Secre- 
tary of this state be authorized to permit James Van Ingen to take 
certain volumes of the records of this state, written in the Dutch 
language, in succession, from the Secretary's office to his own dwell- 
ing-house, in the city of Albany, for the purpose of making such 
translations as in the opinion of the Comptroller, Surveyor-General, 
and the said James Van Ingen, shall be deemed useful in aiding 
the Rev. Samuel Miller in collecting materials for his history of 
New- York, and that legislative provision shall be hereafter made 
for paying the expences attending such translations ; and that the 
same shall be entrusted to the care of the said Samuel Miller for 
the term of two years, in order to aid him in compleating the his- 
tory aforesaid ; which translations shall immediately hereafter be 
deposited in the Secretary's office for the use of this state.^ 

The Senate concurred in this resolution the same day,'* thereby 
making the first legislative provision for the translation of portions 
of the Dutch records at public expense. As far as can be ascer- 
tained no translations were made under this resolution and Febru- 
ary 14, 1805 the matter came again before the Legislature, in the 
form of sections 5, 6 and 7 of a bill entitled An act appointing the 



^Assembly Journal, 1800-1, 24:36. 
'Assembly Journal, 1800-1, 24:98. 
'^ Assembly Journal, 1800-1, 24:221. 
* Senate journal, i8co-i, 24:94. 



10 NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 

Deputy-Secretary of this State, clerk of the Commissioners of the 
Land-OMcc, and for other purposes} which passed on April 9. 
1805.^ The sections named, which have no direct connection with 
the rest of the act, read as follows: 

V. And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful 
for the secretary of this state, and he is hereby directed as soon 
as may be after the passing of this act, to cause such of the rec- 
ords in his ofilice which are written in the Dutch language, and 
which shall be designated by the person administering the govern- 
ment of this state, to be translated into English, and to be trans- 
scribed in proper books to be provided for that purpose, which 
translations when so transcribed, shall be deposited in the office 
of the secretary of this state as part of the public records thereof. 

VI. And be it further enacted, That the translator to be em- 
ployed by virtue of this act, shall before he proceeds to execute 
his trust, take and subscribe an oath before the chancellor or chief 
justice, well, truly and faithfully according to the best of his abil- 
ity to make the said translations, which oath certified by the said 
chancellor or chief justice, shall be filed in the secretary's office. 

VII. And be it further enacted, That the comptroller shall de- 
termine the amount of compensation, to which such translator may 
be reasonably entitled for his services, and thereupon to draw his 
warrant on the treasurer for the same. 

In accordance with the above provisions, James Van Ingen was 
chosen as translator and in April and November 1805 he gave re- 
ceipts for the following Dutch records^ from the secretary's office : 

A Council minutes, Apr. 8, 1638-Mar. 11, 1647 

B '' May 27, 1647-Aug. 2, 1649 

W Secretary's records \ ^ ^ 
W << } 1642-63 

CC " Apr. 19, 1638-Oct. 20, 1641 

EE War with the Esopus Indians, 1663 
GG Patents, July 12, 1630-July 20, 1649 

HH " Apr,: 16, 1654-June 17, 1661 ; also proceedings of 

Council, Feb. 18, 1651-July 11, 1655 
II Deeds, 1652-53, 1664, 1673-74 

These records remained in the hands of James Van Ingen for a 
number of years, but no translations were made. In 1813, the pro- 
visions of the law of 1805 were reenacted as sections 8, 9 and 10 



1 Senate Journal, 1804-5, 28:38, 56, 57, 128, 129. Assembly Jaurnal, 1804-5, 
28:329, 352, 354. 

2 Laws of 1805, ch. 96, Webster's ed. 4:250. 

'John V. N. Yates, Annalium Thesaurus, p. 9. In office of Secretary of 
State. 



THE TRANSLATION OF MANUSCRIPT DUTCH RECORDS II 

of an act entitled An act concerning the Surveyor-General and the 
Secretary of State, passed April 6, 1813.^ Even then James Van 
Ingen appears to have made no beginning with the work of trans- 
lation and it may partly be due to his delay that the history of the 
State planned by Dr Miller and on which he labored in a desul- 
tory way for a number of years, was never finished.^ 

In 1817, De Witt Clinton became Governor and took steps to 
have the Dutch records translated, a matter in which from the first 
he had been greatly interested. Realizing the need of another trans- 
lator, he addressed himself to Francis Adrian van der Kemp, a 
former Dutch minister, then 65 years of age and living in quiet 
retirement at Olden Barneveld, now Barneveld, in Oneida county. 
Van der Kemp was a man of considerable attainments, who had 
come to this country from Holland in 1788 as a political refugee, 
in consequence of the leading part which he had taken in the strug- 
gle of the Patriots against the adherents of the House of Orange, 
which struggle ended in 1787 in the defeat of the Patriots by an 
army of 20,000 men sent to the aid of the Prince of Orange by 
the King of Prussia. He was well received in this country and 
enjoyed the friendship of many prominent men of the day owing 
to his former association with Baron Johan Derk van der Capellen, 
the bold liberal who first advocated the recognition of the United 
States by the States General of Holland. When the proposition 
to translate the Dutch records was made, van der Kemp so doubted 
his own ability that he accepted the task only upon a second 
ofifer and provided that the initial volume of his work should be 
critically examined by the Albany authorities and await their ap- 
proval. This followed and he deemed it a duty " to run the risk " 
though he " dared not answer for the issue. "-^ He began the 
laborious task of translating in February 1818 and finished it at 
his home in Olden Barneveld. during the second term of the ad- 
ministration of Gov. De Witt Clinton, on September 14, 1822.* 
These translations, which are commonly referred to as Albany 
Records, are at present contained in 24 folio volumes, including a 
total of 10,206 written pages, with an average of 180 words to the 



1 Revised laws, 1813, i :48i. 

2 A " Discourse designed to commemorate the discovery of New-York 
by Henry Hudson," was delivered by Rev. Samuel Miller before the New 
York Historical Society, Sept. 4, 1809; see New York Historical Society, 
Collections, 1809, 1:17-45. 

^Francis Adrian van der Kemp, an autobiography, ed. by Helen Lincklaen 
Fairchild, N. Y. 1903, p.178-79, 181. 
^ Van der Kemp's translations, 23:406. 



12 NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 

page, or a total of 1,837,080 words. They comprise, with frecjuent 
omissions, translations of the entire series of Dutch records, with 
the exception of the two volumes of Dutch patents, which were 
retained by James Van Ingen ; the other volumes of Dutch records 
which were taken out of the Secretary's office by Van Ingen in 
1805 were turned over to van der Kemp between December 1818 
and January i, 1820, when Van Ingen deposited a few loose sheets 
of translations.^ 

The cost of the translations to the State was $7553.25 for com- 
pensation to van der Kemp, $140.37 for stationery and binding, 
and $1450.58 paid to John F. Bacon and Edward Livingston, clerks 
of the Senate and Assembly, for indexing the translations, amount- 
ing in all to $9144.20.^ 

As to the value of the translations, it may be stated that they 
have long since been regarded by competent students as absolutely 
worthless for critical historical work. Owing to the difficulties 
under which van der Kemp labored, consisting chiefly in an im- 
perfect knowledge of the English language, impaired eyesight and 
the urgency to complete the task during Governor Clinton's ad- 
ministration, the translations are filled with mistakes that destroy 
their value as an historical source. They are not only grossly 
inaccurate as to the transcription of proper names — as shown by 
the specimens given below — but they are also utterly misleading 
as regards the contents of the original documents. Not infre- 
quently entire clauses have been omitted and others inserted which 
are not found in the Dutch text, in such a way as to substitute a 
free and often erroneous interpretation for the actual wording 
of the documents. Moreover, the English is crude and ungram- 
matical and fails to do justice to the businesslike and forceful char- 
acter of many of the originals. As stated in a recent letter by Mr 
John H. Innes, the author of Nciv Amsterdam and its people, who is 
familiar with the translations, van der Kemp, " from a sort of fatal- 
ity, so to speak, seems to have been led almost constantly to the use 
of unusual forms of expression and of antiquated and obsolete 
words, even where the forms in common use approach far more 
closelv to the Dutch idiom itself. It is true that the words he uses 



1 John V. N. Yates, Annalium Thesaurus, p.9. Report of the Secretary of 
State, relative to the records, &c. in his office, Senate Documents, 1820, no.2, 
p.6, 13. 

2 Comptroller's report. Assembly Journal, 1820, 43:279; Assembly Journal, 
1820-21, 44:189; Assembly Journal, 1822, 45:398; Assembly Journal, 1823, 
46:119; Assembly Journal, 1824, 47th session, 1:210. 



THE TRANSLATION OF MANUSCRIPT DUTCH RECORDS I3 

are such that in most cases one can guess tolerably well at his 
meaning, but their unusual form gives them a constantly odd and 
quaint, and sometimes highly ludicrous sense." If in addition 
it is stated that van der Kemp invariably omits the parts that are 
hard to decipher, it will readily be seen that the translations are in 
every sense unsatisfactory and a constant source of error and 
annoyance to the historical investigator. Instances of inaccuracy 
could be cited by the thousand, but the following, chosen at random, 
will suffice. 

Van der Kemp, i :34-35 ; translated from TV. Y. col. mss, i :32-33 : 

This day appeared before me Andries Hudde, who acknowledge 
to owe Gerrit Wolphertsen the sum of fifty two gl. Holland cur- 
rency — further to me its lawful half for a gift to Gerrit Wolphert- 
sen of 50 morgen in the district of Achtervelt — which lot I con- 
vey to him with all the right and title which the Company can 
pretend to possess on this lot, engaging to consider valid, whatever 
disposition said Wolphertsen may make about the same lot, for all 
which Andries Hudde submits his person and property, without any 
exception to any court of justice. Done in the Island of Manhattan 
26 July 1638. 

A.Hudde 

Translation should read : 

This day, date underwritten, before me, [Cornelis van Tienhoven, 
secretary of New Netherland], appeared Andries Hudden, who 
acknowledged that he was well and truly indebted to Gerrit Wol- 
phertsen in the sum of fifty two guilders Holland currency, and 
also in 50 morgens of land out of his just half share in the dis- 
trict of Achtervelt, given to Gerrit Wolphertsen, which said 50 
morgens of land he hereby conveys and transfers to him, renounc- 
ing all claim which the grantor (Comparant, literally appearer) 
has to the aforesaid land and promising to hold valid whatever 
he may do with the aforesaid land. For all that is written above 
Andries Hudden pledges his person and property, real and per- 
sonal, without any exception, all in good faith. Thus done on the 
island of Manhates, this 26th of July 1638. 

[signed] A. Hudde 

Van der Kemp, i :34-35 ; translated from A/'. F. col. mss, i :32-33 : 

This day appeared before me Cornelius van Tienhoven, secre- 
tary in behalf the general privileged West-Indian Company in New- 
Netherland Symon janssen of Newendam, who acknowledged in 



14 NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 

the presence of witnesses, to have purchased from WiUiam Claes- 
sen. skipper of the ship, named the arms of Muscovy, two ankers 
of double anise. . . 

Symen lanssen Quylenliver 

Styvelemslog 
Evert Evertsen ~1 
Jillis Petersen | -witnesses 

Translation should read : 

This day, date underwritten, before me, Cornelis van Tienhouen, 
secretary in New Netherland by authority of the General Char- 
tered West India Company, appeared Si j men Jansen van munneke- 
dam. who in the presence of the underwritten witnesses acknowl- 
edged that he had bought of Willem claesen, skipper of the ship 
called " t" Wapen van Notorwegen " (Arms of Norway), two an- 
kers of double anisette. . . 

[signed] Symon Jansen Kuylenburch 
Wyellem claes^ 

Evert Evertsen biisschop 1 

T.„. . > as witnesses 

Jilhs pietersz j 

As shown above, the records translated by van der Kemp in- 
cluded all but the two volumes of land patents, GG and HH, which, 
on account of their legal importance as the basis of real estate 
titles in the State, it may not have seemed advisable to send to 
Olden Barneveld. These two volumes remained temporarily in the 
custody of James Van Ingen, who at last on October i8, 1822 de- 
posited in the Secretary's office a translation of the second part of 
HH covering 154 folio pages, and on September 8, 1826 a transla- 
tion of the first part of HH, then marked H, consisting of 63 folio 
pages. The amount of compensation which Van Ingen received 
for this work does not appear from the Comptroller's reports, but 
in 1826 an item of $8.50 was paid for a Book for the translation 
of Dutch records- which probablv refers to these translations. 

The only volume which then remained untranslated was that of 
land patents, GG, and May 7, 1839 ^ special act was passed for 
its translation, as f oUows : 



■" Canceled in original. 

2 Comptroller's report, Assembly Journal, 1827, 50lh session, i -.228. 



THE TRANSLATION OF MANUSCRIPT DUTCH RECORDS Ij 

CHAP. 366. 

An act concerning a book of Dutch records in the office 
of the secretary of state. 

Passed May 7, 1839. 

The People of the State of Nezv-York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follozvs: 

§ I. The secretary of state shall, as soon as con- Secretary 
veniently may be, cause the book of record of patents '°ransTatcfr ^ 
in the Dutch language marked GG, remaining in his 
office, to be translated into English by a competent trans- 
lator, and to deliver the said book to such translator for 
that purpose ; and when such translation shall be made, 
the same shall be transcribed in a book to be provided 
for that purpose, and shall with the original be de- 
posited in the office of the secretary of state, and shall 
be a part of the public records of this state. 

§ 2. The translator to be employed as aforesaid, be- 
fore he proceeds to execute his trust, shall take and 
subscribe an oath before the secretary of state, well and ^to^take"^ 
faithfully, according to the best of his ability, to make an oath 
the said translation, which oath shall be filed in the said 
secretary's office. 

§ 3. The treasurer shall pay on the warrant of the 
comptroller to the said translator, such sum as shall be 
certified by the secretary of state to be a reasonable ^°"^3^^^* 
compensation for his services in making and transcrib- 
ing the said translation, and also for so much stationary 
as shall be necessary for the purpose aforesaid. 

§ 4. This act shall take efifect immediately. 

The translator chosen was Rev. C. D. Westbrook ; he deposited a 
complete translation of volume GG in the Secretary's office on 
July 23, 1841 and was paid $787.90 for the work.^ 

The translations of both volumes of land patents by Van Ingen 
and Westbrook are kept in the office of the Secretary of State. 
They are creditable pieces of work, though by no means free from 
errors in the description of the land conveyed. These errors, how- 
ever are due less to lack of knowledge on the part of the trans- 
lators than to a certain ambiguity in the language of the original 
instruments and they can be detected only by comparing the de- 
scriptions of adjoining pieces of property in the corresponding pat- 
ents and deeds of later date. These errors have apparently not 



1 Comptroller's report, Assembly Documents, 1842, no.is, p.103. 



lO NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 

always been realized and grave mistakes in the location of early 
landmarks have been the consequence. 

In 1839, acting upon suggestions made by Dc Witt Clinton in 
1814, the New York Historical Society presented to the Legis- 
lature a memoriaP urging the importance of an investigation of 
European archives, for the purpose of procuring those materials 
for the illustration of the history of the State which the State's 
own records could not furnish, and as a result of this memorial 
an -act was passed on May 2, 1839, entitled An act to appoint an 
agent to procure and transcribe documents in Europe relative to 
the colonial history of this State." Under this act John Romeyn 
Brodhead was commissioned as agent on January 20, 1841. He 
sailed for Europe the same year and after having successively vis- 
ited the archives of Holland, England and France returned to this 
country in the summer of 1844, with 80 volumes of transcripts 
which were deposited in the office of the Secretary of State. Under 
the authority of an act entitled An act to provide for the publica- 
tion of certain documents relating to the colonial history of the 
State, passed March 30, 1849,^ E)'' E. B. O'Callaghan, who- in 
1848 had been employed by Secretary of State Christopher Morgan 
to prepare for publication the first volume of the Documentary 
history of Nezv York, was engaged to translate such of the tran- 
scripts as were in foreign languages and to edit the entire collec- 
tion. The publication was begun in 1853 under the title Docu- 
ments relative to the colonial history of the State of Nezv York, 
and April 12, 1856, the Legislature passed an act for its completion 
under the direction of the Regents of the University.* The set 
was completed in 10 quarto volumes in 1858 and in 1861 a gen- 
eral index was issued as volume 11. 

The undertaking was followed immediately by the publication in 
1861, also under the editorship of Dr O'Callaghan, of two vol- 
umes of the Journal of the legislative council of New York, 1691- 
1743, while between 1861 and 1863, Dr O'Callaghan prepared a 
Calendar of Nezv York colonial manuscripts, indorsed Land papers, 
1643-1803, and a Calendar of historical manuscripts, 1630-1801, 
500 copies of each of which were ordered to be printed by reso- 



1 Documents relative to the colonial history of New York, General intro- 
duction, i:X-XIII; Assembly Journal, 1839, 62:267, 391; Assembly Docu- 
ments, 1839, no. 153. 

2 Laws of 1839, ch.3is. 

3 Laws of 1849, ch.175. 
* Laws of 1856, ch.i68. 



THE TRANSLATION OF MANUSCRIPT DUTCH RECORDS 1/ 

lution of the Senate, dated April 23, 1863.^ This second calendar 
v^as published in 1865-68. It consists of four volumes, of which 
the first contains a list of the documents and entries in the Dutch 
records, mentioned at the beginning of the present report, the sec- 
ond volume a list of English manuscripts from 1664 to 1776, and 
volumes 3 and 4 transcripts of papers relating to the American 
Revolution. In the preface to the first volume of this calendar, 
O'Callaghan took occasion to point out the great value of the 
Dutch records, the unreliability and incompleteness of van der 
Kemp's translations, and the need of an entirely new translation. 
Acting probably upon these suggestions, Mr William H. Gleason 
on January 10, 1865 S^^^ notice in the Assembly that he would 
at an early day ask leave to introduce a bill relative to the original 
laws and historical manuscripts and records in the office of the 
Secretary of State.^ The bill was introduced on January 11 and 
on January 19 and 27 and March 10 petitions in favor of its pass- 
ing were received from the Buffalo Historical Society, the New 
York Historical Society and Union College,^ which petitions un- 
fortunately are no longer among the legislative files. The bill 
passed on April 22, 1865, and reads in part as follows : 

CHAP. 539. 

An act relative to the original laws and historical 
manuscripts and records in the ofiice of the Secretarv 
of State. 

Passed April 22, 1865 ; three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section i. The secretary of state is hereby authorised 
to employ a competent person to translate into the 
English language the Dutch manuscript records in the 
office of the said secretary ; and to transcribe such trans- ^"^eta/ 
lations into books to be provided for that purpose, and of state 
carefully to index the same ; which books, with the said \ranTia\7r 
original records shall be deposited in said office, and form "^ "'^^'^^ 

, r j1 11- t c 1 • , . • - tnanuscript 

part of the public records of this state, and the said records in 
person thus appointed shall discharge such other duties '"^ °*" 
in re'gard to the care, preservation and arrangement of 
the historical records in the said secretary's office, as 
the said secretary shall, from time to time prescribe. 
********* 



1 Senate Journal, 1863, 86:762. 

2 Assembly Journal. 1865, 88 149. 

3 Assembly Journal, 1865, 88:60,88,104,153.576. 

2 



i8 



NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 



Oath of 

translator, 

&c. 



§ 3. The translator and person so employed for the 
purpose aforesaid, before he proceeds to execute his 
trust, shall take and subscribe an oath before the secre- 
tary or deputy secretary of state, well and faithfully, ac- 
cording to the best of his ability, to discharge the duties 
imposed upon him by virtue of this act, which oath shall 
be filed in the said secretary's office. 

§ 4. This act shall take efifect immediately. 

Under the authority of this act Dr O'Callaghan was employed 
in the ofifice of the Secretary of State as translator, or archivist, as 
he is sometimes styled, at a salary of $1500 a year till October i, 
1872, when the office of translator was abolished by law.^ Dr 
O'Callaghan set immediately to work preparing translations of a 
series of Laws and ordinances of Nezv Netherlands 1638-1674, of 
which 500 copies were printed in 1868 at a cost of $5280.75^ by 
resolution of the Senate of April 20, 1867.^ He then undertook 
to make new translations of the Dutch records in regular order, 
beginning with the Register of the Provincial Secretary. Four 
manuscript volumes of translations were completed, which are en- 
titled as follows : Records of Nezv Netherland, translated by au- 
thority of chapter 539, of the laws of 1865, from the original Dutch 
manuscripts in the office of the Secretary of State, by E. B. O'Cal- 
laghan. 
V. I Register of the Provincial Secretary, 1638-41." 

326p. 
V. 2 Register of the Provincial Secretary, 1642-47. 

432p- 
V. 3 Register of the Provincial Secretary, 1648-57. 

409P- 
V. 4 Council minutes, 1638-49. 21 ip. 



bound 

!^ as one 

volume 



To the first three volumes there exists a printed index published 
in 1870; to the fourth volume there is a manuscript index, which 
with the translations was transferred to the State Library under 
chapter 120, of the laws of 1881. 



1 Laws of 1872, ch.541. From the appropriation act of 1873. laws of 1873, 
p. 1 133 it appears that O'Callaghan was actually employed till October 22, 
1872, and received a compensation of $126.56 for his services from the ist 
of October to that date. The Comptroller's reports show that in addition to 
his annual salary O'Callaghan received at different times extra compensation 
for special work. i 

2 Comptroller's report, Assembly Documents, 1869, no.3, p. 71. 

3 Senate Journal, 1867, 90:1126. 



THE TRANSLATION OF MANUSCRIPT DUTCH RECORDS I9 

The first two volumes of translations were completed in 1868 
and 1869, the third volume apparently in 1870, and the fourth vol- 
ume probably not till October 22, 1872. Their cost to the State 
may be put down approximately at four years' salary of Dr O'Cal- 
laghan, or $6000. 

These translations, both of the laws and ordinances and of the 
four volumes of New York colonial manuscripts, are a vast im- 
provement on the translations of van der Kemp. They represent 
some of the latest work of Dr O'Callaghan, made more than 20 
years after he wrote his History of New Netherland, and are there- 
fore the result of ripe experience. Nevertheless, they are not free 
from errors, both of omission and commission, and possess a seri- 
ous defect in that they do not strictly adhere to the spelling of 
proper names. Furthermore, Dr O'Callaghan has invariably sub- 
stituted English equivalents for Dutch given names and names of 
ships, a practice which in the translation of historical documents 
is no longer considered admissible. The language on the whole is 
good, but at times unnecessarily strained, and in case of publication 
a complete and careful revision with the originals would be nec- 
essary.^ 

In the early part of 1876 Mr Berthold Fernow was attached to 
the office of the Secretary of State as translator and custodian of 
archives, and preparations were made for the translation and pub- 
lications of other portions of the Dutch records. Mr Fernow plan- 
ned a publication along the lines of local history and selected from 
the Dutch and English records material for three quarto volumes, 
respectively illustrating the history of early settlements on the Dela- 



1 To show how much such revision is needed, it is sufticient to examine 
the first page of the manuscripts translations of Dr O'Callaghan setting forth 
the terms of a lease by Director General Kieft to Jan Jansen Damen of two 
parcels of land on the island of Manhattan, which Dr O'Callaghan describes 
as follows : " the largest of which has thus far been cultivated by the 
Blacks, and situate on the East of the Road, on the North of said Jan 
Damen, South the esplanade of the Fort, and to the East of Philip de Truy, 
and the smallest, situate to the North of the Company's Garden, and on the 
South of said Jan Damen, extending from the Road to the River," with 
the following note : " On the 25 April 1644, Jan Damen obtained a Patent 
for the above mentioned two lots of land. Book of patents GG. p.91," 
whereas the correct translation, agreeing with the well known location of 
these parcels of land, should read: "the larger of which has thus far been 
used by the blacks and is situated on the east of the road [Broadway], 
[being bounded] on the north by the said Jan Damen. on the south by the 
esplanade of the fort, and on the east by Philip de Truy ; and the smaller 
situated to the north of the company's garden and to the south of the said 
Jan Damen, extending from the road to the river;" while the patent re- 
corder in Book of patents GG, p.91, does not relate to the above mentioned 
two parcels of land, but to two other pieces of land, lying north of the first. 



20 NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 

ware and Hudson rivers and on Long Island. The volumes were 
issued in 1877, 1881 and 1883 as volumes 12-14 of the series of 
Documents relative to the colonial history of New York, at a cost 
of $7909 for printing and binding of volume 12/ of $4593.59 for 
volume 14,- and probably not less than $4000 for volume 13, the 
exact amount not being given in the Comptroller's report, but in- 
cluded in a general item for legislative printing. Mr Fernow was 
paid at first on the basis of an annual salary of $1200, then of 
$1600 and later of $1000, but appears to have been employed at 
irregular intervals and to have received $800 for eight months' 
services in 1876; $1466.66 for services in 1877; $626.67 ^^r ser- 
vices in 1878; nothing in 1879; $666.66 in 1880; $1083.34 in 1881 ; 
and $250 in 1882,^ in which year, in consequence of the transfer 
of the records to the State Library, he accepted a position under the 
Regents of the University of the State of New York. 

In these volumes 12-14 the parts that are translated from the 
Dutch records contain respectively 455, 394 and 556 pages, with 
an average of 500 words to the page or a total of 702,500 words. 
They may therefore be said to represent about one third of the ma- 
terial contained in the Dutch records. The documents selected are 
naturally among the most important, but by no means include 
everything that is historically important or necessary for a com- 
plete understanding of the events set forth. Indeed, the selections 
may be said to have been made somewhat at random and interesting 
papers that are referred to in the printed text have been omitted, 
even though in the manuscript volumes they are found side by 
side with the documents selected for publication. As an instance 
of this may be mentioned a letter from the directors of the West 
India Company to Stuyvesant, dated May 26, 1655, found in Neiu 
York colonial manuscripts, volume 12, page 22, and printed on 
-pages 321-24 of volume 14 of Documents relative to the colonial 
history of Neiu York in which it is stated that the burgomasters 
and almshouse authorities at Amsterdam are " again sending by 
this ship a party of boys and girls as per enclosed list." This list 
is found in Nezv York colonial manuscripts, volume 12, page 25 
and contains the names of 17 children sent over, but it is not 



1 Comptroller's report, Assembly Documents, 1879, no.3, p.54. 

2 Comptroller's report, Assembly Documents, 1885, no.3, P-64- 

3 Comptroller's reports, 1877-83. 



THE TRANSLATION OF MANUSCRIPT DUTCH RECORDS 21 

printed by Mr Fernow in connection with the letter. Another 
drawback of the publication is the topographical arrangement, 
which has led to the breaking up of a majority of the documents 
into several parts, which are distributed over the three volumes. 
The result is a series of fraginents which, when pieced together, in 
some cases represent the entire document and in other cases do not, 
and which leave the person who does not have the original before 
him constantly in doubt as to whether he gets all there is in the 
document or not. The translations read smoothly and as a rule 
are fairly accurate, though Mr Fernow occasionally makes bad 
mistakes. Mr Fernow was a native of Prussian Poland ; to him 
therefore both the Dutch and the English were acquired languages 
and, notwithstanding his great linguistic abilities, his knowledge is 
apt to fail him when it comes to anything particularly involved or 
technical. As an instance of remarkable inaccuracy in this last 
respect may be cited a ship's invoice of 1663, printed on pages 
428-29 of volume 12 of Documents relative to the colonial history 
of Nezv York, in which Mr Fernow gives the following items : 

TRANSLATION SHOULD 
DUTCH READ 

I cask with soap i vat met zeegens i cask with drag nets 

I package of wheels i pack met fuyclaen i pack of hoop nets 

22 powderbags 22 Cruyzuagens (mis- 22 wheelbarrows 

read Cruytzvageiis) 

I small cask of Spanish i kasge spaense Seep i small case of Spanish 
wine (Castile) soap 

3 packages of soap 3 packjes sceven 3 packages of sieves 

I half radishes I liulf radijzer (mis- i half tire iron 

read radijzen) 

Other instances of error, which have been noticed incidentally 
but which could be greatly multiplied in number by careful com- 
parison of the translations with the originals, are as follows : 

On page 273 of the above mentioned volume 12, in a letter from 
Jacob Alrichs, director of the colony of New Amstel on the Dela- 
ware, Mr Fernow translates : " Yes, we know it for sure to be the 
opinion of our Lords Patroons, that the military should not med- 
dle, when a certain nimiber of citizens should be in this Colony 
able to protect themselves," instead of " that the military should be 
gradually removed when there is a sufficient number of citizens in 
this Colony to protect themselves." 



22 NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 

On page 309, *' I ordered to have the transmitted commands dis- 
patched," instead of " I had the transmitted mandamus served." 

On page 381, Cornelis Marssen Factor for Cornelis Marssen, 
factor. 
Jacob de Bommer, surgeon for Jacob de Commer, 

surgeon. 
Pieter Jansen Teschett for Pyeter aerssen tesselt. 

On page 153 of voknne 14 of Documents relative to the colonial 
history of Nezv York, " common welfare in important land matters," 
instead of " common welfare in important affairs of state " ; and 
" may well in time ruin this blessed and fruitful country or bring 
it to a sorry condition and turn the laws into public nuisances," in- 
stead of " may well in time ruin this blessed and fruitful country, 
or at least reduce it to a sorry condition and an object of great 
scandal to the heathen." 

And on page 168 of the same volume, in relation to Cornelis 
]\Ielyn's patroonship on Staten Island, " It seems now, that Baron 
Hendrick and Alexander van der Capelle have negotiated with 
this fellow and bought from him one half of the island without 
previously informing us," instead of " It seems now, that Messrs 
Hendrick and Alexander van der Capelle have negotiated with this 
patroon and bought from him a part of the island without previ- 
ously informing us."^ 



1 In order that the citation of the above errors may not give the impres- 
sion that the State was especially unfortunate in the selection of its trans- 
lators, it may be well to point out that equally bad mistakes are found in 
private publications which are generally looked upon as scholarly. In New 
York Historical Society, Collections, 1857, volume 8, page 17, the late Hon. 
Henry C. Murphy, to whom historical students are indebted for several 
excellent monographs and the publication of a number of rare and valuable 
Fources of history, translates from the voyages of De Vries as follows : 
'' we grounded upon the large shoal before Dunkirk. We fired a shot, so 
that our companion came to anchor. My yacht came under my lee ; but 
we could not bear the expense of its returning . . . All of us pushing 
and pulling we got into four fathoms of water." This should read: "we 
grounded upon the Breebanck before Dunkirk. We fired a shot, so that our 
companion came to anchor. My yacht came under my lee, but could not 
stand it there on account of the surf. . . Bumping and tossing along, 
we got into four fathoms of water." Again, in the Vertoogh van Nieu 
Ncderland, New York, 1854, page 78, Mr Murphy translates, speaking of 
the prosecuting officer, Hendrick van Dyck, " What shall we say of a man 
whose head is troubled, and has a screiv loose, and who is powerful at 
home; especially as it often happens that it is hushed up, if there be any 
sap in the zvood to close it up," which Dr O'Callaghan, in JDocuments relative 
to the colonial history of New York, volume i, page 308, has amended as 
follows: "What shall we say of one whose head is a trouble to him and 
whose screw is loose, especially when it is surrounded by a little sap in the 
wood, which is no rare occurrence, as he is master at home." The correct 
translation, however, reads: "What shall we say of a man whose head 
troub'es him and who is much given to rashness, especially, as not rarely 
happens, when he has been drinking." 



THE TRANSLATION OF MANUSCRIPT DUTCH RECORDS 23 

Summing up the character and extent of the translations, we 
find that there is a translation of the greater part of the Dutch 
records by van der Kemp, which is so poor that it need not be 
considered at all ; that there are manuscript translations of two 
volumes of land patents which fail in their most essential particu- 
lar, namely correctness in the description of the land conveyed ; 
that there is a fairly satisfactory printed translation of about 300 
laws and ordinances selected from various volumes of the records ; 
that there are manuscript translations of volumes 1-4 of the rec- 
ords which with comparatively little labor could be prepared for 
publication ; and that there are printed tra/.slations in volumes 
12-14 of Documents relative to the colonial history of Nezu York 
which in an unsatisfactory way make available about one third of 
the entire material in the records. 

The question arises, what is to be done with the collection as a 
whole, or at least with the parts that at present remain untrans- 
lated. 

There is no question about the value of the records and the ob- 
ligation to do everything possible that will help to preserve if not 
the originals, at least the contents of the documents. As Dr O'Cal- 
laghan expresses it in the preface to his calendar, " the Records of 
a government which thus introduced civilization, and founded 
Courts, Churches, Schools and similar institutions in our State, 
are, few will be bold enough to deny, deserving of every care and 
worthy of particular preservation. They are the ground work, 
the foundation stones of the History of the State of New York, 
and, if destro3^ed, the record evidence of its antiquity will be irrep- 
arably lost." Many records are at present in such a fragile con- 
dition that even the most careful handling may injure them and 
render it impossible to make a perfect copy, while through fire or 
otherwise they are liable to be destroyed at any time. The con- 
stant flow of inquiries relating to the Dutch records and the re- 
quests for copies and translations, which take up a good share of 
the archivist's time, show that there is considerable interest in the 
papers. Therefore, for reasons of public interest and economy, as 
well as safety, there is good ground for undertaking the publication 
of the records at the earliest moment. The only question is, how 
shall it be done? 

Three ways suggest themselves : ( i ) to publish translations of 
the documents which heretofore have not been printed by the State, 
with references in their proper chronologic place to the existing 



24 NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 

printed translation of the other documents; (2) to publish new 
translations of the entire body of records, without reference to the 
existing translations; (3) to publish all the material in Dutch, with 
translations on opposite pages. 

The first plan is the least expensive. The publication would take 
about five octavo volumes of 800 pages each, which, with the pres- 
ent facilities in the archivist's ofifice, might be issued in about 10 
years. Owing however to the unreliability and the scattered con- 
dition of the existing translations, such a publication would leave 
much to be desired. It would fail to give the records the neces- 
sary continuity and oblige students to resort to several earlier State 
publications, which are unsatisfactory and in some cases hard to 
procure. In short, it would be little more than a makeshift, which 
would be considered unworthy of the value of the earliest public 
records of the State and very soon require their republication in 
more connected form. 

The second plan allows for more systematic treatment of the 
records and for the correction of the errors which are found in 
the existing translations. It is a great improvement on the first 
plan, but after all, with considerable outlay, fails to give the origi- 
nal text and substitutes an interpretation, which is not all that 
scholars have a right to expect. 

The third plan has all the advantages of the second and in addi- 
tion, by giving the Dutch text, makes it more worth while to re- 
print in the way of translation so much material that in less satis- 
factory form is already available. 

The State under the direction of the present State Historian has 
undertaken or is about to undertake the publication of two import- 
ant series of public records, covering the proceedings of the English 
Colonial Council from 1668 and of the State Legislature from 1777, 
which will be issued in accordance with the best practice in histori- 
cal editing. It is important that the publication of the correspond- 
ing records for the Dutch period, if undertaken by the State Li- 
brary, shall not suffer by comparison, but set equally high stand- 
ards as regards accuracy and scientific arrangement. 

Modern scholarship regards the translation of historical docu- 
ments as merely editorial work and demands that the original text 
be given as well as the translation, in order that competent persons 
may critically study the records for themselves. There are in and 
outside of the State many persons who can read and understand a 
printed Dutch text, but who are not sufficiently expert in the gram- 



THE TRANSLATION OF MANUSCRIPT DUTCH RECORDS 25 

matical forms of the language and in the handwriting and con- 
tractions of the period to make much out of the original manu- 
script. In the interest of such persons the Dutch text should be 
given as well as the translation. Moreover, the publication of 
the Van Rensselaer Bozvier manuscripts has in Holland attracted 
attention to the fact that the early Dutch settlements in this coun- 
try are worthy of careful study. For the sake of the benefit which 
the elucidation of the early history of the State may derive from 
the study of the records by Dutch historians — who look at events 
from a different point of view and who have the advantage of a 
detailed knowledge of the contemporary history of their own coun- 
try — it seems important to give such scholars the necessary ma- 
terial in its original form and in their own language, instead of 
through the medium of a foreign tongue. Finally, and this is per- 
haps the most important reason for printing the Dutch text as well 
as the translation, the printing of the documents in their origin.-al 
form is, properly speaking, the only means of preserving for all 
time the authentic information contained in them. 

There is no denying that the editing of the entire body of Dutch 
records in the original language and in translation is a big under- 
taking, which needs to be carefully planned if the work is to pro- 
ceed with proper speed. The publication would make about 15 
volumes of 800 pages each. With the help of an expert copyist, 
enough material could probably be prepared for one volume a year, 
so that the undertaking would be completed in 15 years. 

In consideration of the advantages set forth above, I earnestly 
recommend that the plan of printing the entire Dutch text as well 
as the translation be adopted. 

Respectfully yours 

A. J. F. VAN Laer 

ArcJiiznst 
Albany, N. Y. March 25, 1909 



INDEX 



Accounts, 7 
Albany Records, ii 
Appeal, writs of, 6 

Bacon, John F., amount paid to for 
indexing translations, 12 

Brodhead, John Rome3'n, commis- 
sioned as agent to procure docu- 
ments relating to colonial history, 
i6 

Burr, Aaron, report on petition of 
Rev. Samuel Miller, 9 

Clinton, De Witt, support of bill 
concerning a history of state, 8; 
efforts to secure translation of 
Dutch records, 11 

Colve, Gov. Anthony, records of ad- 
ministration of, 7 

Correspondence, 6; gaps in, 7 

Cost, of van der Kemp's transla- 
tions, 12; of Westbrook's trans- 
lation of land patents, 15; of 
O'Callaghan's translations, 18-19; 
of Fernow's translations, 20 

Council minutes, 6; gaps in, 7 

Curagao papers, 6 

Delaware papers, 6 

Fernow, Berthold, translations, 19- 
22 ; in ofifice of Secretary of State, 
19; acceptance of position under 
Regents, 20; compensation, 20; 
inaccuracies in translations, 21-22 

Fort Orange records, 6 

Gleason, William H., bill intro- 
duced by, relative to translation 
of manuscripts, 17 



Hartford, negotiations vvitli English, 
letters and papers respecting, 7 



Innes, John H., on van der Kemp's 
translations, 12 

Land patents and deeds, 7 ; transla- 
tion, 14 ; errors in, 15 ; translations 
fail in description of land con- 
ve3-ed, 23 

Legislative provision for translation 
of Dutch records, g, 15, 17 

Livingston, Edward, amount paid to 
for indexing translations, 12 

Miller, Samuel, plan for history of 
state, 7-1 1 ; history never finished, 
II 

Murphy, Henry C, errors in trans- 
lations, 22 

New York Historical Society, 
memorial to the Legislature, 16 

O'Callaghan, E. B., publications, 16; 
translations, 16; employed in office 
of Secretary of State as trans- 
lator, 18; salary, 18; defects in 
translations, 19; translations an 
improvement on van der Kemp's, 
19 

Ordinances, 6 

Provincial Secretary, register, 6 

Stuyvesant, Director General, cor- 
respondence, 6 ; report of voyage 
to the West Indies, 7 

Thompson, Smith, resolution pre- 
sented by, 9 

Translations, legislative provision 
for, 9, 15, 17; of land patents, 
14-15; bill introduced by Mr 
Gleason relative to, 17; summary 
of character and extent, 23 ; 
methods of publication proposed, 

23-25 ; 



[27] 



28 INDEX TO TRANSLATION OF MANUSCRIPT DUTCH RECORDS 



Translations (continued) 

Van Ingen's, 8; delaj- in, 9, 10- 
11; of land patents, 14; 

Van der Kemp's, 11; cost, 12; 
unreliability and incompleteness, 
12, 17; John H. Innes on, 12; 
instances of inaccuracy, 13; 

Westbrook's, of land patents, 

is; 

O'Callaghan's, 16, 18; an im- 
provement on van der Kemp's 
translations, 19; defects in, iq; 

Fernow's, 19-22; inaccuracies, 
21-22; 

Murphy's errors in translation 
from voyages of De Vries, 22 



Van der Kemp, Francis Adrian, 
translations of Dutch records, 11; 
unreliability and incompleteness of 
translations, 12, 17; amount paid 
to, 12; specimens of inaccurate 
translations, 13 

Van Ingen, James, translation of 
Dutch records authorized, 8; de- 
lay in work, 9, lo-i i ; records 
taken from Secretary's office, 10; 
translation of land patents, 14 

Westbrook, C. D., translation of 

land patents, 15 
Writs of appeal, 6 



NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY BIBLIOGRAPHIES 

Bibliography bulletins. Mostly original bibliographies presented by 

Library School students as a condition of graduation. Suggestions of subjects 

on which bibliographies or reading lists are specially needed and contributions 

of available material are invited. Bound volumes include numbers out of orint 

except no. 5. ^ 

Volume I, cloth $1.50; unbound $1.25 

Bbl Guide to the study of J. A. M. Whistler. i6p. May 1895. o.J>. 

Bb2-4 Colonial New England; Travel in North America; History 

of the 17th Century. Sop. July 1897. i^c. 
Bb5 Reference books for use of cataloguers in finding full names. 

2 2p. Jan. 1898. o.J>. Stiperseded by no. 36. 
Bb6-8 Japan; Venice; Out-of-door books. 64P. Feb. 1898. zoc. 
Bb9-II Netherlands; Renaissance art; History of latter half of 15th 

century. i28p. Apr. 1898. i^c. 
Bbl2 Best books of 1897. 28p. June 1898. 0. p. 
Bbl3 Fairy tales for children. 3op. June 1898. o. p. 
Bbl4 Index to subject bibliographies in library bulletins to Dec. 31, 

1897. 62p. Aug. 1898. IOC. 
Bbl5-I7 Russia; Nature study in primary schools; Biography of 

musicians. i5op. Jan. 1899. o.p. 
Bbl8 Eest bcoks of 1898. 28p. May 1899. 5<^- 
Bbl9 College libraries in the United States. 52p. Dec. 1899. loc. 
Bb20 House decoration and furnishing. 2op. Dec. 1899. ^c. 

Volume 2, cloth $1.50; unbound $1.25 
Bb2I Best books of 1899. 28p. May 1900. ^c. 
Bb22 Domestic economy. i44p. Jan. 1901. i^c. 
Bb23 Connecticut local history. ii4p. Dec. 1900. j^c. 
Bb24 New York colonial history. 274p. Feb. 1901. jj-^. 
Bb25 China and the Far East. i22p. Mar. 1901. 20c. 
Bb26-27 Frbbel and the kindergarten; Reading list for children's 

librarians. 92P. May 1901. i^c. Wozt separately, jc, 
Bb28 Maine local history. 148P. June 1901. 20c. 
Bb29 Best books of 1900. 32P. July 1901. joc. 
Bb30 Class list of a $500 library recommended for schools. Ed. 3. 
82p. July 1 90 1, i^c. 

Volume 3, cloth $1.25 ; unbound |i 
BbSI Monopolies and trusts in America. 38p. Oct. 1901. loc. 
Bb32 Biography for young people. 6op. Nov. 1901. jjc. 
Bb33 French government serials. 72p. Jan. 1902. i^c. 
Bb34 Best books of 1 901. 3op. June 1902. loc. 
Bb35 Best books of 1902. 36p. July 1903. loc. 
Bb36 Cataloguers reference books. i86p. Nov. 1903. 3^c. 
Bb37 Best books of 1903. 46p. July 1904. loc. 
Bb38 Ethics. 36p. Apr. 1905. loc. 
Bb39 Best books of 1904. 46p. Aug. 1905. 10c. 
Bb40 Best books of 1905. 44p. Aug. 1906. o.p. 

Volume 4 
Bb4I Florence. 44p. Sept. 1906. loc. 
Bb42 Scotland. 36p. Apr. 1907. loc. 
Bb43 Best books of 1906. 48p. Aug. 1907. loc. 
Bb44 Best books of 1907. 56p. Sept. 1908. loc. 
Bb45 Best books of 1908. 5op. Aug. 1909. loc. 
Bb46 Translation and publication of manuscript Dutch records 
of New Netherland in the State Library. 3op. Jan. 1910. loe. 



Manuscript bibliographies. A complete list of Library School graduation 1. jli- 
ograpliies through April 1902 was printed in the second edition of the Kei^isfer of the 
Ljbrarv School <Lil)rary School bulletin 11), pa^es 53-58. A list of manuscript bib- 
liographies and indexes in the State Library, September 30, 1905, consisting chiefly 
of Library School graduation bibliographies not at that time in print, was published 
as table Vz in the State Library Kenort for 1905. The following Library School 
graduation bibliographies have been added to the collection since that date. These 
bibliographies are available for consultation in the library and most of them may be 
lent under certain conditions. The subject number according to the Decimal classi- 
fication precedes each entry. 

012 Colley Cibber, 1671— 1757. 1908. I. M. Cooper 

012 Ajncrican Dante bibliography, May 1896-May 1908. 1908. E. D. Roberts 

To be published by the Dante Society. 

012 John Dryden. 1902. C. J. Barr 

012 Knglish translations of Horace. 1908. L. E. Fay 

012 Henry Irving. 1907. Julia Steffa 

012 George John Romanes. 1905. M. L. Gilson 

012 Edmund Spenser. 1908. C. F. Porter 

013 Theses submitted for the master's or doctor's degree in 32 American universities 

in 1906. 1907. K. E. Dinsmoor 

016.01 Bibliographies in English, 1890—1904. 1906. Nicholas Hansen, J. E. Good- 

win & H. S. Hirshberg 

016.02 Library administration: reading list. 1906. E. L. Bascom 

016.05 Periodicals selected for a public library: annotated list. 1908. C. E. Rush 
016.07 Journalism: reading list. 1908. M. A. McVety 
016.218 Immortality: reading list. 1906. Corinne Bacon 
016.298 Mormonism. 1906. Esther Nelson 

016.325342 References on the question of federation of and within the British Em- 
pire. 1907. J. R. Donnelly 
016.3298 Third parties in the United States since 1856. 1908. R. L. Adsit 
016.3313 Child labor. 1906. E. M. Henry 

016.3318 Realistic sociology in fact and fiction; reading list. 1008. C. H. Compton 
016.352 List of titles on municipal government, with special reference to city charters 
and to local conditions in Chicago. 1906. C. H. Brown 
Printed as Publication no. 3, of the City Club of Chicago 
016.3536 Lists of New England soldiers in the armies and navies of the United 

States, colonial or constitutional. 1908. M. E. Baker 
016.3624 The blind. 1902. Mrs O. L. (Mann) Brundage 
016.364 Juvenile courts in the United States. 1908. J. G. Strange 
016.3691 Hereditary patriotic societies of the United States. 1905. W. B. Cook, Jr. 
016.386 New York canals and navigable waterways. 1906. M. M. Beal 

Printed in N. E. Whitford's History of the canal system of_ the State of 
New York, 1906, 2:1173—366. The History of the canal system is published as 
a supplement to the New York State Engineer's annual report for 1905. 
016.394 Articles relating to holidays. 1907. E. M. Coulter 

Printed as Bulletin of bibliography pamphlets no. 17 and also printed in the 
Bulk tin of bibliography, April 1907. It is a second edition of R. M. 
McCurdy's bibliography, which was' published in the Bulletin of bibliography, 
Oct. 1904— July 1905, and reprinted as Bulletin of bibliography pamphlets 
no. 13. 
016.4089 Esperanto. 1906. S. K. Hiss 

016.546 Radio-activity and radium: a partial bibliography. 1905. L. M. Solis-CoUen 
016.59 Popular zoology: reading list. 1906. J. C. Knowlton 
016.6362 Ranch life. 1906. H. M. Tlioinas 

016.656 Signaling and train despatching on the steam railroads of the United States. 
1908. H. L. Stebbins 

016.7 Children's reading list on art and artists. 1906. A. T. Eaton 
016.716 Gardens and gardening. 1906. Mrs L. M. (Gamwell) Moulton 

016.8 Translations in print (1906) of foreign literature (belies lettres). 1907. Mrs 

Julia (Scofield) Harron 
016.8093 Prose fiction. 1906. N. L. Goodrich 

Printed in the Bulletin of bibliography, July 1906— Jan. 1908. 
016. S22 Modern dramatists; D'Annunzio, Hauptmann, Ibsen, Maeterlinck, Phillips, 
Rostand, Shaw and Sudermann: reading list. 1906. Mrs C. A. (Mul- 
liken) Norton 

Printed in the Bulletin of bibliography, July 1907— Jan. 1908, and reprinted 
as Bulletin of bibliography pamphlets no. 18. 
016.823 Detective stories. 1907. L. F. Meriitt 
016. 8^3 Ghost stories. 1908. Jean Hawkins 

Printed in the Bulletin of bibliography, Jan. -April 1909, and reprinted as 
Bulletin of bibliography pamphlets no. 20. 
016.8398 Modern Norwegian literature, 1850 — 1907, as represented in English trans- 
lations and works of 20 authors. 1907.- Arne Kildal 
Printed in Idun, Oct. 1908. 
016.91337 Roman private life. 1904. Ernestine Rose 
016.9151 China: reading list. 1908. M. G. White 
016.9173 BookS' in European languages, about America, for immigrants. 1908. A. L. 

Holding 
016.920042 Biography of eminent English men and women from 1689 to 1760. 1907. 

R. W. Wright 
016.9265s English biographies of printers. 1907 L. J. Bailey 
016.929 Genealogies in the New York State Library. 1907. M. C. Nerney 
016.948 Sweden, Norway and Denmark: reading list. 1906. E. F. McCollough 
016.0742 New Hampshire local history: reference list. 1905. M. H. Avery 
016.9743 Vermont local history: reference list. 1907. G. L. Lewis 
016.97442 Books and pamphlets printed in and relating to i^orthampton, Mass. 1671- 

1904: select. 1906. F. K. Walter 
016.977 The Old Northwest: reading list. 1906. F. L. D. Goodrich 



ARY OF CONGRESS 



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